


For Her Smile

by Runic



Series: Fire Emblem Non Explicit One Shots [9]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving, Jealousy, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21904723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runic/pseuds/Runic
Summary: Claude gives Byleth a kitten to make her smile.And then promptly realizes he is jealous of the attention she is giving it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Fire Emblem Non Explicit One Shots [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1515215
Comments: 6
Kudos: 146





	For Her Smile

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jullika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jullika/gifts).



> I wanted to write Jullika a Christmas fic as a thank you for how inspiring she has been. 
> 
> Also, a shout out thank you to Cirro, because I couldn't think of how to end this fic until you mentioned Claude putting a bow on himself.

The sudden crash caught the attention of Claude and his advisors, all of their hands going to their weapons. Golden eyes blinked back at them, a soft 'meow' escaping the creature before it fled. 

Claude watched in amusement as the cat sent the rest of the refreshment table to the floor. He was less impressed when it dived into his pile of precious maps, and quickly concerned when it started weaving its way through a weapons rack. Someone behind him, he suspected Annette, squeaked out a high, "Oh no, kitty!"

Well, never let it be said Claude was one to leave a lady in distress. He stepped forward, reaching out as the cat jumped toward its next source of chaos. It yowled and twisted in his hands, sharp claws raking on the backs of his gloves. Claude knew he looked ridiculous wrestling with the little creature, and had to resist sighing in relief when he managed to grab the cat by the scruff of its neck. It had already wounded his royal dignity enough for one day. 

Claude brought the cat up to eye level. It was curled up, looking rather angry. Its ears laid back, and it hissed at him. Claude realized then that he was essentially in a staring match with a cat in front of his generals. 

"You're a little troublemaker, aren't you?" Claude questioned lightly, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. 

The cat wasn't buying it. It opened its fanged little mouth and let loose a loud 'meow.' Claude felt he should be further annoyed by the act, but honestly there was something about it that reminded him of the way his wife always saw right through him. 

"If I put you down will you behave?" Claude asked the cat.

He was answered with another loud 'meow ' that left him with little doubt the cat was in no way about to start something as sensible as that. 

"Here we go," Annette said, having apparently disappeared to grab a plate laden with a large fish. She set it down on the council table, and gently took the cat from Claude. The little monster gave a gentle noise, curling against the woman who in a few months would take her new post as Garreg Mach's sorcery teacher. "Awww," Annette cooed, hugging it before setting it down in front of the fish. 

Claude felt his eye twitch. It sure was a cheeky little thing. There was a light rumble of laughter from his generals, and no one seemed to mind the cat as it finished its meal and curled up near Claude. 

He didn't even realize what he was doing until Judith caught his gaze, her lips curled in the most unsubtle of smirks. Her eyes dropped, pulling Claude's gaze with them, to where his hand was petting the now purring cat. 

Well, maybe it wasn't so bad after all. There was a nagging in the back of his mind that told him Byleth would love the tiny creature. 

He immediately rethought his earlier retraction when it woke up and began using his hand as a chew toy. 

/

“I brought you a present.”

Byleth was so deeply absorbed in the report she was reading that she had not looked up when he entered the room. But at the sound of his voice her head snapped up, her lips turning upward in that beautiful smile reserved only for when they were alone. “Claude!”

His own smile widened as she stood. They both crossed the room, meeting each other halfway. With his hands behind his back, Claude leaned forward to press his lips against his wife’s. It was not as deep as his usual welcoming kiss, but with his hands occupied he could not pull her close and hold her against his body as they both refused to release the other until they ran out of breath.

There was curiosity in Byleth’s green eyes as she pulled away, silently noting the change in behavior. “What did you bring me?”

Claude smirked at her, leaning in for one more kiss, this one no more than a peck but wonderful in its warmth. He brought his hands around, holding the chaos kitten in front of him. It had sulked the entire trip home, constantly trying to bite at his hands. One night he had woken up to it fighting with his feet.

And yet, every time he thought about just letting Annette take the little thing, it felt wrong. As wrong as standing in front of Byleth holding the tiny creature out to her felt right. She blinked, hands slowly reaching out for the grey and white fluffy monstrosity. “A kitten?” She picked up the cat, and it immediately began to purr and it curled against her chest. Claude felt his eye twitch, and did his best to hide the tick.

But Byleth’s smile, that was all worth it. She melted in her own subtle way, holding the kitten closer. “He’s so soft.”

“He crashed one of my war councils,” Claude explained. 

Byleth laughed softly. “And that made you think of me? I’m actually flattered.”

And there was that smile, that smile reserved for him, directed at the kitten that had tormented him for a week now.

An annoyed spark tugged at his chest, quickly morphing into horror as he recognized it. He was jealous...of a cat.

/

Over the next month Claude would walk into rooms to see the kitten by Byleth’s side. It rarely left her alone. When he sat beside her, Byleth’s hands would always be busy petting the cat instead of playing with his hair. It even went with her into council meetings, curling up in her lap to take a nap while they discussed the merger of their countries. The worst was when he came to bed late, and the cat was curled up on his pillow.

He hated it. Not the cat, no, he saw how much Byleth loved it and he would never deny her something that made her happy. What he hated was how jealous he it made him. He was a pouty, sulky mess.

He was jealous of a cat! A cat!

So, it was perhaps in that strain of desperation that he ended up putting a bow around himself. Byleth blinked when she walked into their room, surprised to find her husband lying on their bed with nothing on beside the red silk bow around his neck. “Hello, my love.”

The cat glared at him, but Byleth placed it on the floor. It meowed pitifully at her, looking up with innocent eyes, but Byleth just shook her head. “Go on, Jeralt,” she said, unswayed by the silent plea. 

The cat threw one more glare at Claude, before tapping its way across the floor and jumping onto a window ledge before disappearing into the gardens. 

Byleth was smiling at him as she sat on the edge of the bed, that smile that made Claude’s heart leap whenever it was directed at him. “Was someone feeling a bit neglected?” Byleth asked, brushing back that troublesome lock of hair that always fell to the front of his face.

Claude turned his head, kissing her wrist. “Perhaps a bit,” he admitted.

She clicked her tongue and leaned in, placing a slow sweet kiss against his lips. “Would you like me to make it up to you?”

Claude sighed, sitting up so he could pull her close. “I’m not going to say no, because that would be crazy, but I hate that I got so worked up over a gift I gave you.”

Byleth laughed once, low and gentle. Her fingers traced the edge of the bow, and Claude was pleased to see the spark of lust in her eyes. “My love, don’t you realize why I became so attached to that cat?”

Claude paused, enjoying the shiver that went through him as her hand dipped lower. “Because I gave it to you?” he ventured. 

“Yes,” Byleth whispered, leaning in. She took the ribbon in between her teeth, slowly pulling it apart as she tilted back her head. As it came undone, Byleth dropped the silk, only to pick it back up in her fingers a second later. She pulled on it, forcing him closer to her, kneeling over him so that her breasts were right in his line of vision and her knee was rubbing against his half hard erection. “He reminds me that even when you are not with me you are thinking of me. Every time I pet him or he curls up in my lap, I smile because I think of you. I enjoy having a reminder of you with me. I love you, Claude.”

Claude drew in a sharp breath as his back hit the mattress, biting his lip when Byleth entered his line of sight again, the warmth of her legs settling across his hips. “I love you too, By,” he breathed out.

There was that smile again, beautiful and radiant, and promising him so much. “I’m going to ride you now,” Byleth announced. She took the ribbon from around his neck and wrapped it around his wrists, pinning them above his head.

Claude grinned up at her, the terrible feeling in his chest unraveling. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Perhaps the cat really wasn’t so bad after all. Oh, he was sure he would rethink that again and again as he actually interacted with it, but it was all worth it for that smile. 


End file.
